Former Essendon fitness coach Dean Robinson could take AFL, ASADA to court: lawyer

By Jon Pierik

6 July 2014 — 4:51pm

Lawyer David Galbally fears the two court cases involving Essendon are only going to portray the AFL and Bombers in a worse light, warning he could also take the league to court in Dean Robinson's unfair dismissal case.

As the stakes in the two cases continue to rise, Galbally, representing the former Essendon fitness coach in his Supreme Court fight, is also open to the possibility of joining Essendon and James Hird's case against the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority in the Federal Court.

Former Essendon fitness coach Dean Robinson.

Photo: Getty Images

Galbally said he was watching the case, brought against ASADA, but would wait until there were further developments, or even a result, before deciding whether to join.

"It will depend on what happens,'' he said. "We have got one huge Supreme Court action which has got significant ramifications, and it may end up with the AFL being joined. I don't know.

"[The Robinson case] is a big action, but I am very interested ... I have already thought about such an action against ASADA, but it's too early for us to be doing it.

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"All of this is not going to reflect at all very well on the AFL, on the [AFL] commissioners, on the management, and it's not going to reflect well on those that are on the board of directors at Essendon from 2011 to right through to today. I think it's only going to get worse."

Galbally suggested that if the Bombers and suspended coach Hird were to lose their Federal Court case, which begins in front of Justice John Middleton on August 11, he could join in an appeal - should the Bombers and Hird take that option.

"If Essendon win, that's the end of it. Bang, it's got everybody," he said. "If they lose, it's a question of whether they appeal.

"If something happened that necessitated [Robinson] do something, then we could go back to Middleton, get him to give his same decision and get him to say, 'I make that decision against Dean as well'. Then we have a ground to appeal as well."

Hird and Essendon are arguing in the Federal Court there was an unlawful investigation into the club's supplements program by ASADA and the AFL.

ASADA presents its defence to the two parties this week.

Robinson, interviewed over five days by ASADA last year, has not been issued a show-cause notice by ASADA, although the club's former sports scientist Stephen Dank has.

Robinson is suing the Bombers for almost $2 million, including damages, interest and costs after claiming he was made a scapegoat and stood down when the Bombers self-reported on February 5 last year.

Galbally said comments made by AFL chief medical officer Peter Harcourt at a Zurich conference last November, claiming there had been "craziness, or the madness, of certain individuals who were in the [Essendon] support staff" and revealing the players had been tested for peptide use in 2012, could be used by Robinson to also seek damages from the AFL.

"I haven't closed my mind on that yet. It will depend very much on what happens in this [Hird and Essendon] hearing," he said.

"I had an inkling of what Harcourt had said but nowhere near as detailed as he said. Essendon have pleaded in their defence that they stood him down at the AFL's behest. It doesn't necessarily make the AFL a party, but what Harcourt has now said, that may bring the AFL right in ... but I haven't got to that stage yet.''

Robinson could also seek AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and his predecessor Andrew Demetriou to give evidence relating to why he was suspended. Galbally has until July 18 to launch subpoenas.

"There are AFL people that will be subpoened and there is AFL material that we will be seeking, because we want to know what were the discussions that went on that led Essendon to plea that the AFL told them to stand [Robinson] down."